Owner says Racing Point targeting victory

Lawrence Stroll plans a new factory for the team near Silverstone

(GMM) Team owner Lawrence Stroll is targeting nothing other than victory in Formula 1.

But he admits that buying Force India last year was just the first step.

"First we wanted to restore financial stability and give the engineers the means to develop the car," the Canadian billionaire, whose son Lance drives for the team that is now called Racing Point, told La Presse.

"For now, we want to keep fighting in the middle of the pack, aiming for fourth place in the constructors' standings. In the longer term, the goal is to become one of the best teams in the paddock and aim for victory," Stroll added.

But the fashion mogul knows it will not be an overnight project, which is why he has approved the building of a new factory at Silverstone.

Stroll said he knew 2019 would be a difficult year for Racing Point on the track.

"The team certainly did not have all the funds necessary to prepare the car this year, so we knew that the first races would be difficult," he said.

"But we will try to make changes faster than the other teams. Maybe not as fast as the big teams, but as fast as we can."

Team boss Otmar Szafnauer said the goal is to get the new factory up and running for 2021.